H-II Transfer Vehicle KOUNOTORI (HTV)

HTV-1's unberthing / release timeline rescheduled

HTV-1's unberthing and release timeline has been rescheduled as follows.

• Unberthing: 0:00 a.m. October 31
• Release: 2:30 a.m. October 31

The HTV-1' unberthing was originally scheduled at 10:30 p.m. tonight, and the release was scheduled at 1:05 a.m. October 31. However the flight controllers on the ground confirmed that a piece of debris may enter into the HTV-1's flight path after HTV-1 is released from the ISS orbit.

Thus, the ground team decided to delay the release of the HTV-1 by one orbit (approximately 90 minutes), and also delay the unberthing by one orbit, to avoid a close call.
The HTV-1's reentry timeline will not be affected by this reschedule.

Also, there is no need for the ISS to perform a debris avoidance maneuver to raise its orbit because odds of collision with the debris are low.

*All times are Japan Standard Time (JST. UTC + 9 hours)